2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Tahoe years
- Far more complaints than other years 4th of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 528 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. That ranks 4th out of 32 Tahoe model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (233 complaints, 44%), typically at around 93,000 miles. Complaints mention 6 crashes, 5 fires, 21 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 4 defect investigations involving it.

- 528owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 4NHTSA investigations
- 6complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags problems | 233 | 44% | 93,000 | “takata air bags” (25%) | — |
| Unknown or Other | 92 | 17% | 83,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System problems | 87 | 16% | 63,000 | “door locks” (22%) | — |
| Structure problems | 79 | 15% | 76,500 | “door handles” (19%) | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages problems | 60 | 11% | 38,000 | “door lock” (40%) | $620 |
| Engine | 27 | 5% | 89,600 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 16 | 3% | 93,800 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 13 | 2% | 86,282 | — | — |
| Suspension | 13 | 2% | 66,988 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 10 | 2% | 113,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 9 | 2% | 60,164 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 7 | 1% | 71,953 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 1% | 117,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 6 | 1% | 89,400 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 1% | 86,953 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 1% | 32,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 3 | 1% | 58,905 | — | — |
| Tires | 3 | 1% | 6,750 | — | — |
| Visibility | 3 | 1% | 33,885 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 0% | 64,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 2 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 0% | 5,600 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 0% | 47,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | 1,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 0% | 17,639 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0% | 16,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 0% | 81,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 0% | 48,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Chevrolet Tahoe recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328780.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Electrical system
Problem: Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
- Interior Door Handle Laceration Risk (PE09044) — opened Sep 14, 2009, closed May 23, 2010.
- Non-crash engine compartment fires (EA08010) — opened Jun 12, 2008, closed Sep 8, 2008, led to recall 08V441000.
- Non-crash engine compartment fires (PE08010) — opened Feb 4, 2008, closed Jun 12, 2008.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
The battery energy control module GM Part # 84442220 located inside the HV battery assembly caught fire. The harness that was most affected was the battery cell voltage sense wires. The way the battery voltage sense circuit is manufactured seems dangerous as there is no fusible link between the…
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while stopped by the school to pick up one of his children, the vehicle was parked. The contact then noticed smoke emanating from the driver's front seat. The contact safely removed his occupant, who was his autistic child, seated in…
We were sitting in a parking lot with the engine running and heard an explosion in the vehicle. Later we discovered that the left rear, side curtain air bag had deployed. Horn has been inoperable for months cruise control hasn't worked in years steering wheel radio controls don't work. No…
Was Delivered. Took for a test drive. Stalled at stop sign. Restarted went down the road stalled and slammed into park. Contacted company was told to take to local GMC/Chevy, (said they did a bunch of research and this part should work) basically guessing had my vehicle for 9 months replaced some…
I had bought the 08 Tahoe hybrid. The day it was delivered, it stalled I called the dealership out of Minnesota and was told oh it could be this it could be that went to two local shops and a private shop all had different specifications as to what was wrong with the car due to so many codes being…
Other Chevrolet Tahoe years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Tahoe | 27 | 3 |
| 2025 Tahoe | 49 | 1 |
| 2024 Tahoe | 68 | 3 |
| 2023 Tahoe | 229 | 5 |
| 2022 Tahoe | 193 | 4 |
| 2021 Tahoe | 457 | 16 |
| 2020 Tahoe | 57 | 3 |
| 2019 Tahoe | 107 | 2 |
| 2018 Tahoe | 105 | 3 |
| 2017 Tahoe | 174 | 4 |
| 2016 Tahoe | 256 | 8 |
| 2015 Tahoe | 658 | 14 |
| 2014 Tahoe | 90 | 3 |
| 2013 Tahoe | 233 | 4 |
| 2012 Tahoe | 178 | 3 |
| 2011 Tahoe | 447 | 5 |
| 2010 Tahoe | 314 | 3 |
| 2009 Tahoe | 284 | 5 |
| 2008 | 528 | 4 |
| 2007 Tahoe | 1,177 | 4 |
| 2006 Tahoe | 114 | 3 |
| 2005 Tahoe | 293 | 5 |
| 2004 Tahoe | 467 | 2 |
| 2003 Tahoe | 507 | 4 |
| 2002 Tahoe | 449 | 3 |
| 2001 Tahoe | 512 | 5 |
| 2000 Tahoe | 282 | 6 |
| 1999 Tahoe | 552 | 1 |
| 1998 Tahoe | 263 | 2 |
| 1997 Tahoe | 410 | 0 |
| 1996 Tahoe | 283 | 3 |
| 1995 Tahoe | 246 | 6 |
See all Chevrolet Tahoe problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Owners most often report air bags, unknown or other, electrical system problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 233 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Tahoe model years, the 2008 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.